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Firehawk
Firehawk was a flying coaster located in the X-Base subsection of Coney Mall at Kings Island. It was the first coaster to be constructed in the park since Cedar Fair took over operations in 2006. Firehawk originally operated under the name of X-Flight at Geauga Lake from 2001 to 2006. It was relocated to Kings Island shortly before Cedar Fair decided to close Geauga Lake that same year. It's worth noting that the coaster is a duplicate of Batwing, a Batman-themed coaster located at Six Flags America in Woodmore, Maryland, possibly due to both coasters being constructed by the same manufacturer. After eleven years of operation at Kings Island, Firehawk ''was closed at the conclusion of the 2018 Halloween Haunt event at the park. A new giga coaster that has yet to be officially announced is set to open in ''Firehawk's former location in 2020. History In 2004, Cedar Fair acquired the Six Flags Worlds of Adventure park from Premier Parks, and restored its original name of Geauga Lake, and replaced the SeaWorld area with the Wildwater Kingdom water park. Cedar Fair would later go on to acquire all of the Paramount Parks, which included Kings Island, in 2006. For unknown reasons, Cedar Fair decided to close Geauga Lake in 2007, and had been dismantling several rides as early as 2006. X-Flight ''was one of these rides, and it later opened on May 26, 2007 at Kings Island under the name ''Firehawk. The ride was built next to Flight of Fear creating a new sub-section in Coney Mall known as X-Base, themed around a top secret military base. More rides from Geauga Lake were later relocated to other Cedar Fair parks, including Kings Dominion, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, Carowinds, and Michigan's Adventure. Like the still-operating Flight of Fear, Firehawk used to have an on-ride camera for guests to purchase photos of their experience, but for unknown reasons, it was deactivated in later years of the ride's lifecycle. On September 27, 2018, the first day of that year's Halloween Haunt at the park, park officials announced that Firehawk would be closing permanently following the conclusion of Halloween Haunt, after eleven years of operation. However, it was still standing, but not operating, during that year's WinterFest event, with a banner saying "R.I.P." added to the entrance sign. For the 2019 season, the surrounding area had been walled off. The coaster had been completely demolished, though some parts of the track and ride cars can be seen nearby from a distance while riding The Racer. On August 15 of that same year, Kings Island revealed Orion, a new giga coaster currently being constructed by Bolliger and Mabillard for the space formerly occupied by Firehawk. This is the same company that manufactured fellow Kings Island attractions Diamondback and Banshee. As a giga coaster, Orion is also set to replace the area formerly occupied by Dinosaurs Alive!, and is scheduled to open in 2020. Additionally, the X-Base area will also be renamed to Area 72, and focus on a theme of space exploration Theme and Ride Experience Theme ''Based on the theming of the queue line, ''Firehawk was presumably themed to a new flight technology developed by the military. The local X-Base is looking for volunteers to test the technology, and all subjects must be willing to accept any risks associated with the test. Trivia *''Firehawk was the first coaster in Kings Island to be opened under Cedar Fair's management. **It was also the first coaster opened during Cedar Fair's ownership to close. *''Firehawk tended to have some of the longest wait times in the park. This was probably because the safety checks for this coaster are much more crucial than the other coasters, as a restraint failure would easily cause a rider to fall out, as opposed to having to hold on tight on coasters like The Beast. Extra care may have been necessary to ensure this didn't happen. *Both Firehawk ''and the still-operating ''Flight of FearFlight of Fear did not allow guests to leave items in the loading station while they ride. However, Flight of Fear instead forces riders to carry said items with them during the ride. **It's possible that items were forbidden on Firehawk due to the nature of the coaster facing downward, and making items more likely to fall out of guests' pockets. *Much like Son of Beast, the only remaining structure from this attraction is the queue line. It's possible that it will be repurposed in a similar manner to form the basis of a Halloween Haunt maze. *''Firehawk'' will be replaced by Orion, a giga coaster that is currently under construction, and is set to open in 2020. It is being manufactured by Bollinger and Mabillard, the same company that manufactured Diamondback and Banshee. The coaster will have a similar theme to Firehawk, but instead of military flight equipment, guests will serve as test subjects for a prototype spacecraft that is intended to reach a newly discovered Earth-like planet, in preparation for an impending asteroid strike that could wipe out the Earth. Category:Roller Coasters Category:Steel Coasters Category:Thrill Rides Category:X-Base Category:Coney Mall Category:Former Attractions Category:Vekoma